this is al jazerra. ♪ ♪ welcome to the news hour, i am darren jordan from al jazerra's news centers in doha and lon do. these are the top stories. phase one complete, inspectors say syria's chemical weapons equipment has been destroyed. protestprotests in kenya over a teen-aged gang rape. the accused men are sentence today mow the lawn. >> i am lauren taylor in london with all the news from europe, including digging their heels in, french footballers say they'll strike over the planned super tax on the rich.

and police in canada say they have video of toronto's mayor apparently smoking a crack pipe. ♪ ♪ welcome to al jazerra, it was an ambitious order, end syria's ability to produce chemical weapons. but it appears to have been done and ahead of schedule. the announcement from the world chemical weapons watchdog means syria can't produce any new chemical weapons. but damascus still has to destroy its chemical arsenal. kim explains how we got to this points. >> reporter: on august 21st, at least 1400 were killed, in what survivors called a chemical massacre. within days, the u.s. and its allies would condemn it too. >> this was not only a direct attack on human dignity, it's a serious threat to our national security. >> reporter: president obama quickly threatening military action against syria. syrian president bashar al-assad

denied at tack and sent a warning to the u.s. >> you can expect everything. >> reporter: but polight i cannily, obama garnered support. >> the chemical massacre in damascus cannot be left without a response. >> reporter: when russia threatened veto any resolution threatening force, military action seemed even further off. >> certainly the international law is very clear, the security council has to be brought in. >> reporter: stepping bako bit. obama did he eyed today and congress to approve the use of military force against syria. but that plan changed when in september, u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, made an the cuff comment saying if syria gave up its chemical weapons then military action could be avoided. something the russians jumped at and that led to plain to eliminate syria's chemical weapons. bays odd that agreement, the global chemical weapons watchdog set deadline for his syria's

disarmer. and sent weapons inspectors in. syria has made dead two deadlines in that process, last week the syrian government submit aid plan outlining how it will destroy it's chemical weapons reserves, on thursday the day before the deadline it announced that they have functionally destroyed the equipment they need to create new chem al weapons. the next deadline is the middle of that month. with syria's formal plan needs to be approved by the international atomic energy agency's executive committee. part of that will be explaining how they plan to destroy tons of agents and munitions in order to meet its final deadline of destroying its entire stockpile by the middle of next year. kim, al jazerra. >> roslyn jordan joined us live from washington, d.c. so we heard that report and the progress and syria was also being discussed in congress today. >> reporter: that's right. best senate foreign relations committee, where the u.s.

ambassador to damascus, robert ford, and two other high-ranking state department officials took a barrage of questions from both democratic and republican senators about what the senators consider to be the obama administration's flailing about for lack of a better expression, when it comes to dealing with the two and a half-year-old civil war inside sear i can't remember the senators were very critical of how the administration has responded to the humanitarian crisis, they were very critical of how the administration has dealt with the opposition in terms of providing material support. military support i should say, as well as other critical support in order to try to help them replace the assad regime. they also were very critical of the ongoing effort to his try to broker what's being called geneva two, another effort at peace talks between the assad government and the opposition. so a very, very tough morning for these top state department

officials. >> all right. roslyn jordan in washington, thank you. protesters in kenya have been calling for the government to take action against mena cuesed of gang raping a six between-year-old girl. the case has caused widespread anger because instead of a lengthy jail sentence, their punishment was on to cut the grass at the local police compounds. mmohamedcompound. >> reporter: ager against sexual violence spills onto the streets of nairobi. these people are protesting the lenient punishment by police of mena cuesed of gang raping the teenager known as liz. they march to the offices of the inspector general of police where they delivered a petition that's been signed around the world by 1.2 million people. >> the petition did he demands two things, media rest and disciplinary action on the police who we feel handled the

daze very dismally and in fact are emboldening others to rape and commit similar crimes. >> reporter: shortly after the attack three suspects were arrested and they were made to cut grass at the station then were let go. just a few days ago the inspector general of police said the suspected rapists had been rearrested. but today it was a different story. >> i am aware that the culprits are at large and we are looking for them where are they are and they sill will soon be arrested and taken in. these protests are not just about the lenient punishment for the men who raped liz but also about bringing to a stop the widespread cases of rape in this country. activists say one in every three women in kenya stands the risk of being raped. most of the rape victims in kenya suffer in silence. in fact, it was not until october, three months after she was raped, that the story of liz

got out. outraged by her suffering, one of her doctors decided to contact this woman. a journalist with the nation newspapers. >> at times i really get frustrated. because i have talked to everyone, i have talked to the police, and every day when i talk to the police at home in our county where she was attacked, they tell me that, oh, we have not yet found these people. and i and myself, who will find them? >> reporter: liz is now in a wheelchair. the injuries to her spine may never fully heal. but activists are hoping her plight will change the way the police react to rape and sexual violence in this country. mohamed adow, al, nairobi, kenya. the international criminal court has postponed the trial of the kenya president. it it was november 5th and see him charged with crimes against humanity. they asked for the original start date of november 12th to be dropped saying the president

needed more time to deal with the aftermath of last month's attack on the west gate shopping sent never nairobi. well, along the border between sudan and south sudan the community in the disputed region has declared allegiance to the south. earlier in the the week, they held an unofficial referendum to decide which of the two countries they want to join and earlier on thursday they announced the result. 99.9% in favor of south sudan. peter has the details. >> reporter: at last, after almost a decade of promises, they have had their say. in a referendum, 99.9% of them rejected sudan. and voted in favor of joining south sudan. they have always want today join the south, this wasn't so much a referendum, as a statement of collective political intent. >> this is the decision of the ordinary people. that's why they are so happy. what they have done is also based on agreements signed

between north and south as well as the international communitiful so this was ale perfectly legitimate. >> reporter: in a traditional gesture of thanks, the community slaughtered a white bull. but it was aimed at themselves, no government, no international agency recognizes the result. this was a unilateral vote. organized by the community itself. they rejected arguments from khartoum who claim this land should also take part. >> it is the will of the people, so we don't care if the governments in khartoum accept it. we are suffering. we have lost our children and our husbands. we have come back to this land to determine our future. this is our own will. >> this is my homeland. so if the north comes to attack, i am ready to sacrifice my life. >> reporter: nobody is doubting the significance of this day. but it is a moral victory in

practical terms it changes nothing. it has no legal weight. this is a stage in the process, not an end in itself. the party continues, but once the dust settles, the leaders will have to convince the world that this referendum is a historic turning point and not just a gesture. peter, al jazerra. presidential elections in afghanistan are less than six months away. but if this pile of fake voting cards is anything to go by, there could be problems ahead. we have a special report from kabul coming up in the news hour. in court in cambodian two aging leaders denies causing death in the killing fields of the 1970s. a day after one the top teams in russia is punished over racist fans, violence throws russian football back in to the spotlight. that's also to come.

the french president has failed to stop a strike from the top football clubs, lauren taylor in our news center. >> thanks very much. they say they'll cancel all matches in november in protest against the 75% tax rate on earnings of more than $1.3 million. here is tim friend. >> reporter: the millionaires and the adoring fans, but now france's top players will be hanging up their boots in protest against high taxes. it brings a new meaning to the description of striker. without a compromise being found, this will be the scene on the last weekend of november. a normally busy match day stadium empty. instead the clubs plan to run open days for fans. clubclubs have deep-pocketed fon buyers, but other teams like league and marseilles, say they

are already struggling, and the tax will make it even harder to compete. not only against better-off french clubs but also for players against spanish, english, german, and italian rivals. >> the tax is too high. you t* creates discrime nation with other countries because football is played on an international scale. not a national one. >> reporter: francois made the tax an election pledge. it will take effect next year. and will be levied on employers who must pay it for two years on all annual salaries above $1.37 million. it will affect 114 players. prince, is lat ta is lan tan ine striker in every sense of the word is paid a reported $20.5 million a year. some fans, but not all support the players and clubs. >> it is steep. i think the smaller clubs will

be really affected by this. it is not fair. >> i am against these taxes because for me, 75% is too much. and for me the maximum would be at the table would be 50%. >> reporter: a spokesman for the clubs went further. we are talking about the death of french football, he said. >> tim friend joins us live from the french capital. so, the meeting between both sides to try to avoid the strike didn't work. what happened now? >> reporter: well, the strike, as you say, goes ahead, the president reminded the football club bosses that they were only one sector of industry in general and this tax was in law now, there could be no exceptions. and they had to pay their way like everyone else. so there will be empty stadiums on that last week in november. the fans, i am sure, will be disappointed and frustrated.

the games will be played at a later date. the clubs say that they are going to open their gates on those days and the fans can come in. and i guess they are going to use that to try and spread the word of their point of view about this situation. but the president is very firm in saying that football is important as it is in people's lives couldn't avoid what other high earners, top earners were having to pay in france. >> tim, as you mentioned, just there, of course it's not just footballers, it's anyone who earns more than $1.3 million who will be liable. it's been pretty controversial so far, will he succeed in pushing it through, do you think? >> reporter: yeah, i think he's going to manage to do this. i mean, he has backtracked on some other taxes, but as you can imagine, there is not a huge amount of overwhelming sympathy for people who earn these large

amounts, because really comparatively, there are so few of them, there is about a thousand in france as a whole, throughout every sector, and the amount that this will raise, many say is more si symbolic thn actually a kind of big revenue-collecting exercise. the tax is supposed to last for only two years. it's symbolic to the extent that francois has chosen in his general economic path to tax those who can afford it without cutting public services, which often hits those at the bottom end as it were who are already struggling. >> okay, tim, thanks very much indeed, tim friend live in paris there. well, there is more bad news for the troubled euro zone, unemployment figures for september show the jobless rate isn't getting any better. it remained at a record high of 12.2%. frustration over the ongoing

downturn erupted in the italian capital earlier. police used tear gas and batons against protesters after a peaceful demonstration turned violent. the crowd was calling for more affordable housing and end to local authority evictions. meanwhile in spain fear of job losses. train services across the country are at a standstill. the transport unions are on strike for the fourth day. rail employees are protesting against government plans to restructure the country's train company, which workers say will lead to job cuts. and there have been hawks for commuters in portugal too as metro employees in the capital refuse today work. they are angry about the government's plans to privatize pub linc transport. it's part after i dial portugal agreed to in order to get it's bail out from the even u. and the international fund. we'll have more news from europe late never news hour, now back to you, darren in doha. thank you very much, lauren. now, workers in indonesia have started a two-day nationwide strike. they are demanding more bay and better conditions.

10s of thousands of them came face-to-face with pair military groups trying to break the strike. here is more. >> reporter: these are paramilitary groups threatening protesting workers a tactic often used by the indonesian military in the passion. tension built up and it was clear the men were trying to provoke a fight. >> one of the workers got hit by a machete. unbelievable. we don't want a war we want to convey our demands. >> reporter: the paramilitary groups enter the industrial zone where workers have been on strike. it is clear that the authorities are fed up with continuous workers demonstration. paramilitary groups and the military are trying to stop them right now. workers started to arm themselves with sticks. but a fight was prevented. labor unions say san estimated

2 million laborers in 20 provinces in indonesia are on a strike. demanding a 50% increase of the minimum wage. >> only two and a half percent of rich people in i wan indonesn 100 percent of all indonesia's assets. that is not fair so we fight for justice. but they don't want to share. that's why they use the force of money and power to fight us. >> reporter: labor unions in indonesia have become vocal in the past few years, after a long period of represence. they recently managed to increase workers' wages after a series of protests. employers are complain that go indonesia's economy is seriously hurt by the workers' actions and after tolerating the protest for his over a year, authorities now appear to be trying to stop it. step, al jazerra, west java.

toronto's police chief says he's recovered a video that appears to show the city's mayor smoking a crack pipe. let's get more on this now from daniel who is in toronto for us now. daniel rumors surfaced sometime ago about this video, what more can you tell us? >> reporter: well, that's right. about, i guess early may in year, a u.s. website gawker.com normally specializes in gossip and pretty reputable toronto newspaper, the star, both said that their reporters had viewed a video of the mayor of toronto, rob ford, he was the only person in the video, and he was speak ago way, he made some racist and home phobic comments, and then he went onto do what appeared to be lighting a crack cocaine pi pipe. now this was bombshell news around the world but the video never surfaced. mayor ford said in a rather terse statement that he didn't use crack cocaine and can't comment on a video that doesn't exist. but after that there was a steady trickle of reports that

mayor ford and his associates were looking around for this video. nothing confirm. what we learned today from the chief of police of toronto, was that the police have had a huge operation looking for the video themselves as part i've big drug operation they are involved in. and today they took the city by surprise by saying they have the video, police chief appearing in a news conference and saying, i have seen the video myself, it says more or less what it says in the press about it. it will be produced in court so it won't be released to the public just yet. and then a really unusual step, he said he was disappointed as a citizen of toronto. the mayor is not being charged but one of his associates is with extortion. >> as you say, daniel, rob ford hasn't been charged with anything yet. but is this likely to impact on his political career? could we see the mayor even resign? >> reporter: rob ford has been a very tough political contender in this city, a populist, right wing populist. came to power with a pretty good

selection of voters, the majority behind him and that support actually went up when the video was not produced when the first round of reports about this video came up. he was under pressure from the left, he was under pressure from the media, but his own base stayed loyal. so the big question for him is now that we know the video exists, we haven't seen it yet and it reportedly shows him smoking something like crack cocaine, will his base respond to that? mayor ford hasn't spoken yet. he has nothing to say. his supporters have been calling for him to resign or explain what's going on. the pressure is on him. but the mayor of toronto can only be moved in two ways by the voters or if he's convict the of a crime and put in jail. so in other words, it's up to the mayor to resign if that's what he chooses or stand up and face the voters next year at the next election. >> daniel, thank you. now, two men accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in cambodia have presented their final defense of as the two-year trial comes to an end, both distance themselves

from the deaths of as many as 2 million people during their rule in the 1970s, florence louie reports from the capital. >> reporter: the line started forming in the morning, not just survivors of the regime, but the younger generation for whom that period of cambodia's past is a few chapters in a history book. but all eager to here what former regime leaders had to say to defend themselves. also known was the first to speak, he denied the charges. and asked the court to acquit him. >> there is no evidence to prove that i did it. i didn't have any effective power or position to have a direct control over the forces. all local authorities. >> reporter: his statement provoked scorn and anger for those that lived under the regime's rule. >> he is a liar. he was a leader. how could he not have known what was happening? >> reporter: if survivors are hoping for an expression of

contrition from the other accused, the former head of state, they didn't get it. he said everything that he did was for the good of the country. this was the era of the killing fields of the 1970s. when the cam rouge leaders killed around 2 million people and expelled million from the capital in 1975. the style has been divideed in to several smaller case to his make it more manageable. this hearing focuses on the execution of government soldiers and forced evacuations. prosecution lawyers have described the he did he want as the beginning of dehumanization of the cambodian people. the trial has face the criticism the current government has said other less senior regime leaders should not be tried. some human rights activists accuse the government of political interference. charges the prime minister's son and politician sidestepped.

>> regardless of the allegations and the discussion through the media that i have seen, i think until now, i still firmly believe that this has been a success. >> reporter: prosecutors meanwhile say they are eager to proceed for the hearing for genocide charges against the defendants. but both men are already in their 80s. and lawyers say the window of opportunity is closing fast. out of the initial four defendant, one has already died. and another has been declared unfit for trial because of ill health. a verdict is not expected until sometime in the middle of next year. survivors of the khmer rouge regime hope this won't be their last chance to justice, florence, al jazerra. in turkey four female politicians have worked are walked in in the parliament wearing head scarfs. they have marks the end of the ban wearing head covering in the chamber. the ban remains in place for judges and prosecutors as well as military and security personnel. the issue of where women can wear head scarfs is a lie

charged one in a secular but muslim majority country. it was loosened by the government. al jazerra has uncovered evidence that suggests next year's presidential vote in afghanistan could be compromised. voters are going to the polls in april to decide the successor. but there are concerns that people are able to buy more than one voting card. jennifer glass reports from the capital kabul. >> reporter: what you are looking at are counterfeit voter card, here in afghanistan, people are worried that they can be used in upcoming presidential elections. al jazerra traveled to the east where we found the cards on sale for between 5 and $10 a piece. they can be used to cast a vote. and you can buy as many as you can afford. an official here at the election commission said he couldn't tell just by looking at these cards whether they were real or fake, but he says it doesn't matter. because on election day there will be enough observers at the polls to prevent corruption.

the chief electoral officer said he was surprised to seat forgeries but he's confident they won't be used to stuff ballots, even though the man selling them said he had 2 million of them. >> for those people trying to vote two times or three times or to proxy voting, they will have a zero chance. >> reporter: but when we showed the cards to prison shall candidate abdullah, he was worried this election could become a pete of the 2009 poll. when he came in second and withdrew because of accusations of vote rigging. al jazerra had found similar fake voter cards at the time, but only weeks before the vote. now there is more than five months until the poll. >> the election commission is not worried because it's the nation that's worried. they have to be worried if this is happening in this way, they have to be worried. >> reporter: ab doubt a said he asked for new voterism d examina comprehensive voter list a year

ago the election commission said they didn't have the time or money for that. they hope election observers and afghan people can keep next year less a lexes honest. jennifer glass, kabul. one day we neat, the next day we go hundreds reu, we hear. we hear. protecting young lungs, new york raises its smoking age and celebrating with a rounds of donuts. red bull f1 title in their own special way. we'll have all that in sports. more next, stay with us. all next week america tonight

investigates the campus rape crisis. >> serial rape is the norm on college campuses. >> i know that when i did report, i was blamed. >> then this friday at nine eastern, we open up the conversation in a live town-hall event. sex crimes on campus, a special week of coverage and live town-hall on america tonight nine eastern. only on al jazeera america.

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mena usemen accused of gang rapa 16-year-old ago. protestersed marched. french footballers are planning to strike against a posed tax high. the government introducing a 75% super tax on earnings above $1.3 million. the french government watts wants to claw back millions of dollars in deficits. learn to go syria now and a suburb of damascus was one of the place where his chem wall cl weapons were used in august. now they are sunk a different type of warfare. they are under siege by the army. about a million people are trapped surrounded by checkpoints, she lives there and talked to us about her struggle to feed her family. >> as you can see, we are a big, extended family, there are 30 kids here. i, my daughter and her kids, we have no one but almighty allah. this has been home for us for three months and we just about

get two bundles of bread a day. yesterday one girl came back from home late, almost 11:00 at night because she went to the camp to bring a bundle of bread, it cost nearly $4. my daughter went to the camp to bring now flour then she found out it was mixed with toxic materials, so after she baked it, she threw it away. >> i went there to complain but when i reached the check point they didn't allow me in so i returned back at sun sit. many people especially women with their babies, are waiting at the check points. and the security forces are beating us. they have beaten an elderly man who was with his young daughter. they took his bread and the mobile phone. one of the security personnel rode him like a donkey while the other was beating the girls. i cried when i saw them doing that to an elderly man. but this is our life now. one day we eat, while the next day we sleep hungry. allow is oua allow is our prote.

>> you can keep up with that on our website. we have a special page devote today the crisis, blogs, videos and opinion pieces you can find it all at al jazerra. there it is on your screen, aljazerra.com. now eye rookie prime minister in washington asking for help combating attacks that have killed thousands of his people in his country. he got in to office in 2006 after his predecessor was ousted for being ineffective. in 2011, u.s. troops left iraq after he refuse today let them stay with immunity, at the end of 2012, sunnies began protesting against him saying that he divided iraq's government along sectarian lines. this year loan, sectarian attacks have killed 7500 people in the country. let's talk to brian, he is a senior fellow of middle east politics at the center for american progress that's a liberal think tank in washington d c.

we know that u.s. lawmakers sent a strongly worded letter to president obama warning him that ma licmalik i's political have o violence, you met him, how has he respond today that letter? >> i think he responds much in the same way he has over the last six or seven years since he's been leader of the country. he vaguely talks about reconciliation and how the apartment doesn't do much but he quite frankly doesn't answer the tough questions of whether his increasingly authoritarian tendencies divides the country. and he talks about the need to move forward but there is a the later of talk but not sufficient action to try to unify iraq. >> yeah, because effectively these senior u.s. lawmakers are putting ma lick i o ma lick i td support for iraq would tend on

his willingness to share power with the minority groupings like sunnies and curds, and he fails to bridge this sectarian divide. >> absolutely the more things change the more they stay the same in iraq. speaking from the washington per spec it tifperspective. after he said u.s. had to levi e iraq, he's coolin coming back ag for assistance. there is hardly a week that goes by when there isn't a visit from someone in the middle east. this week it's iraq, we have had many visitors from the middle east asking the u.s. to stay engaged what iraq is asking for is very sophisticated weapons system to help them in the fight against al qaeda other but it's not clear to me that f-16s and the sorts of things that they are asking for are the best tools for fight this is. you need to have political

reconciliation. >> as you say he's gone cap in hand to washington to try and get all of this so ifist indicated equipment, apache helicopters and so on. but is this brian, a recollection on the worst inning security in the country? >> absolutely. but i guess the tough question that needs to be asked, are the tools that he's asking for, the most appropriate tools and are they as relevant as say all of these measures that need to be done politically but some would argue the sectarian i remember, the lack of political is being exploited by the groups and that's the case in iraq. i am skeptical that this is the answer to the complicated societal problems in iraq. >> let's talk about one more fly in the ointment. there is also worry over the conflict in syria. some observers say maliki has facilitated and perhaps even

assisted in iran in in getting weapon to his syria's armed forces. even allowing iranian claims -- >> i can't hear you. >> we seem to have lost our guest there. >> you are back now. >> great. i was asking you a final point on the war in syria some observers say that maliki has assisted even helped iran to get weapon to his president assad's military. would you agree with that? >> well, his argument is that they lack the capacity. that they can't control their air space and there is some cade tones thacredenceto that argume. but quite frankly some elements connected to his government and his political elements inside of iraq activity supporting the assad regime, he that's a simple fact of the matter. and i don't think he's being as clear and honest about what iraq can do to tamp down the sick sectarianism.

>> thank you for talking to al jazerra. >> great, thank you. now, the bodies of 34 people who drowned off the i understand near an coast have been returned to lebanon. their boast sank last month while they were trying to make it to australia. a report from the lebanese city tripoli. >> reporter: it took a month for the 34 bodies to be returned home. theirs is a tragic story of people who left their lives behind in search of a better one. but the dream was cut short when the boat carrying the lebanese asylum seekers sanction off the coast of indonesia. for the families left behind, grief, sorrow and anger. >> my nephew died, it's the fault of the government. he left because he could not find a job. we need to eat. >> reporter: like any, many of the relatives chose to remove the lebanese flag from the coffin as a sign of protest against the government that they feel ignores them. it was supposed to be a mass ceremony in memory of all those

who lost their lives, but because of tensions in the city, plans were changed at the last minute. most of the bodies were taken directly to to an improve relinquished area in north lebanon along the board we are syria where many of the victims came from. nine were from tripoli. their coffins were quickly paradeed in the main square. they all came from an area that sees frequent gun battles between those who support syria's president bashar al-assad and those who oppose him. >> i don't care if there is shooting. are they also going to shoot at the dead? if they do, i will carry a gun. >> reporter: mohamed buried his son hastily. now he's left alone, missing the boy who lied dyed while trying to survive. al jazerra, trip lean in north lebanon. now, the british prime minister has announced measures to avoid taxes by making puck

will you be the names of owners of shell corporations. >> that's right, david cameron announced a register in those who tried to hide wealth in a complexion web of shell companies. simon has more. >> reporter: for some time now, transparent seu has been a frequent feature of david cameron's political speeches off. thursday he sought to turn the rhetoric in to something tangible. to lift the lid o on the murky world of company ownership. >> this summer at the g8 we committed to do just that, to establish a central register of company beneficial ownership. and today i am delight today announce that not only is that registger going to go ahead but it's also going to be open to the public. [applause] >> reporter: the big idea is to tackle the secrecy behind company ownership in the u.k. and expose who owns the shell company that his can be used as anonymous front for avoiding tax, paying bribes and money

laundering. thursday's commitment to letting the public have access to that register went further than many had hoped. >> it's tpwoert us all to have o have an open system which everyone has access to, because the more eye that his look at this information the more accurate it will be. >> reporter: denounce. was led by groups who have long campaigned against the veil of corporate secrecy. >> it's a big deal because criminals, whether they be tackx evaders or corrupt politicians all use companies and the secrecy that they off tore move their dirty money around the world. >> if we know who owns assets everywhere and we share that information it means nobody can escape the tax man and developing countries and rich countries a look can recoup billions of dollars of tax that they are losing at the moment due to secrecy. >> reporter: it's a a positive first step but all say more

needs to be done. the u.k. s eves even u. partner. >> reporter: a cynic might ask what is in it for david cameron, after all his party is known as a friends of big business, but times are changing. corporate malpractice, particularly tax a indications has touched a public nerve here. attacking this whole culture of corporate anonymity is probably good for business and good politics. al jazerra, london. the italian navy has rescued more than 300 pimas they attempted to reach italy by boat. weather conditions were worse earning as they intercepted 105 my grass. 212 people were rescued in a separate incident. hundreds of people, mostly from africa and the middle east, have drowned this year as they try to make the dangerous journey by sea to italy.

authorities in bosnia excavating a mass grave say that they have discovered far more bodies than they expected to. so far, they have recovered the remains of 360 people. it's the biggest single grave found since the war ended nearly two decades ago. chief investigate or says more than 700 bodies may be buried there. it's believed the victims were local villagers killed by boss knee ebossbossknee en turks in . improved health services to prevent mentally ill offenders to be put in jail instead of being treated in hospital. lawrence lee traveled to see how a knew scheme that's delivers results could be rolled out elsewhere. >> reporter: these two men are the forefront of a health carry iin addition tiff never been tried here before. speaking about the mental health crisis on the streets of england, police chief officer and mental health nurse are on their way to a woman's house, she's committed no crime but they fear she might.

she thinks people are coming out of her television set and she has young children at home. >> we have looked at her health and she has a diagnose of pair need schizophrenia. these symptoms fit in with that and we are going out to assess her current state and look at the risk to herself and to other people. >> reporter: which they arrive at the house, the police job is to facilitate the nursing and answer a cry for help. the alternative perhaps not here but certainly in some cases would be too tragic to contemplate. here as elsewhere in england a full 25% of police time is spend feeling with people with mental health problems after something has gone wrong and reason why this pilot is so interesting is it is preventive policing trying to get on top of a remember before the criminal justice system has to get involved. the police recognize they can't

do it alone that's where places like this become so vital. day centers run by the mental health charity mines for people like him a paranoid schizophrenic since his 20s the difference between stability and a prison cell. >> for many years we sat and died. i have had 40 years of mental health and i have seen a difference. now it's get out there and do stuff positive, whatever the situation is. >> reporter: mind makes the obvious point that better funding for such a large problem would actually save the country money. >> there are significant numbers of people who fallout of work because of the mental health problems, in fact, sickness absence as a result of mental health problems is the biggest cause of sickness absence in the u.k. economy. business is take this seriously. >> reporter: project they run likeism it. courses and ways of rehabilitating mentally ill people back in to work are now themselves at risk of cuts. >> if we lose funding our

everybody service will close, they will have to find other services i presume in the area think so this may well be poor quality. >> reporter: campaigners make the points if politicians could see what goes on inside the minds of the mentally ill, then none of these problems would arise. saltly mental illness impresses the person, a police cell is surely no place to put them. lawrence lee, al jazerra. >> that's it from europe. let's turn to doha. lauren, thank you. new yorkers face further restrictions on smoking. yoyou. >> reporter: cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, e. cigarettes will soon be off limits to anyone under 21 in new york city. >> i am a smoker, but i actually think that that might be a good idea. because i started smoking young and i think if i started smoking at 21, i don't know, i don't think i would have started.

>> if you are going to be 21 to drink it should be the same for cigarettes at the h at the end y it's harming you just as much ago alcohol. if you can be old enough and sensible enough to drink then you should be the same about smoking. >> reporter: that's exactly the thought behind the bill to delay and even perhaps deter young people from picking up the habit. mayor michael bloomberg says he will sign the bill. and issued a statement saying we know that tobacco dependance can begin soon after wrung person first tries smoking so it's critical we stop young people from smoking before they ever start. under bloomberg, new york has taken a hard line against tobacco, banning snowinging in restaurants and bars, public parks and beaches. now attention turns to young people. >> if we can prevent them from starting before age 21 they may never start and so over the next 20, 30 years this could make a huge difference in our overall smoking rates. >> reporter: still not everyone is convinced. >> i think if somebody going to smoke they are going to snowing no matter what, i don't think changing the age is going to make a difference. i mean, drinking age is 21, that

doesn't stop people from drinking. >> reporter: the 21 year minimum age will take effect 18 months after mayor bloomberg signs the bill in to law. ray lynn johnson, al jazerra. >> up next, the sport and latest from the paris masters where world number two novak djokovic marches on as he seeks his sixth tour title of the year. more on that, stay with us.

welcome back. time for all the sport. >> thank you very much. just a day after russian club

cska moscow were told to partially close their stadium because of racist fans there have been more ugly scenes in the country. around 30 were detained after trouble broke out during a russian cup match between spartak ho moscow, the play was halt today for half an hour as fans tried to get onto the pitch. police needing water cannons to quell the violence the country due to host the world cup in 2018. now, fifa president has formally apologized to christia cristiano and real madrid about comment he made about the star. ronaldo scored a hat trick for real on wednesday was described by bladder as someone month spend more money on his hair compared to lionel messi, the real president said the remarks were unacceptable and claimed they could influence voting for this year's.

voting. he apologized as for ronaldo speak at a promotional event he said the matter was now closed. >> i just try to do my work. as best i can, so i just try to do good things for my club, to score goals torque play well. i am not response to anyone. this is done. i don't want to speak more about that. and everything go well. we win, this is the most important. >> well, on thursday atletico madrid will have the chance to cut barcelona's lead at the top of the spanish league table to just a single appointment. they go to granada in one of four games in spain. 40 place villarreal hosted, while bilboa welcome. league leaders roam or looking to win their 10th successive game when they face cot up side later on thursday a win sees them go five points clear at the

top. although roma coach rudy garcia doesn't take the win as a given. >> as i have said before, the problem is that the fans and the press, everyone, even at the training ground, thinks that we have already won this match. however, we, the players and managers, don't think so. we will win if we remain humble and if we manage to play 100 percent and play well as a team with the same desire and determination as always. this, in my opinion, will be key. >> on saturday south african side will host egypt in the first leg of the african champions league final. the defending champions are going for their eighth title. they arrive in johannesburg ahead of saturday's game on thursday. the teams know each other well having played in group stages, the egypt champions got a draw on their last visit to johannesburg, the second leg is scheduled for the ninth of november in cairo.

>> football is all about pressure. every different stage has its own pressure. the thans have pressures as well. we try as much as we can to eliminates these pressures, we played many final games whether away or at home. so we know how to handle this. >> the paris masters the world number two novak djokovic is through to the quarter finals, he beat john isner to get there but had to come from behind with the big american taking the first set 7-6. on a tiebreak. but that was as good as it got for i isner, with djokovic dough knowledgishing him in the next two sets, 6-1, 6-2 to seal the win. were you next to the seb. switzerland. >> double partnered roger federer is also through the in straight sets. 6-3, 6-4. as he seeks the second title of the year. next up for him is the man he beat in the final of the indoors last weekend, juan martin

del potro. the wayning champion also in to the last eight having swept aside 6-2, 6-3. looking for his third title of 2013. the formula one circuit heads to abu dhabi this weekend with the newly crowned world champion looking for his seventh straight race win. his red bull team decided to celebrate his fourth consecutive world title in a rather unique way, on the held pat of dubai's most famous seven star hotel. it wasn't businessal, he was pulling off the move, instead it was red bull drafted in their former drive, david. well, he and his fellow drivers were staying firmly on ground level as they arrived at the circuit ahead of first practice. they take place on friday. >> object justicely there iobvit of time between india and the race here, the team is busy so we couldn't go completely mad

but had a good time on sunday night and then, yeah, had two days at home before coming here again fairly quiet, not very spectacular, so yeah, just enjoyed the peace at home. i had some time for myself. now, they are probably still partying in boston nearly a day after winning baseball's world series. you would have to go back nearly a century to see red sox fans celebrate a world series at home. but on wednesday they went from worst to first to be crowned the 2013 champions. it was koji uehara who struck out matt carpenter for the final out against st. louis cardinals the japanese pitcher helping the red sox seal a 6-1 win for their third championship in 10 seasons. and a first at fenway park in 95 years. it was an emotional moment for the team and the fans. following the boston marathon bombings back in april. >> in a time of need, in response to a tragedy, you know, i go back to our players

understanding their place in the city. they kind of, for lack of a better way to describe it, they get it. they get that there is i think a civil responsibility that we have wearing this uniform, particularly here in boston. i think our fans, you know, they got to a point where they appreciated the way we played the game. how they cared for one another in return they gave these guys an incredible amount of energy to thrive on in this ballpark. >> sometimes good things it have to happen for us to get the message and we got the message. everybody stayed together. and it showed the whole world that that is the best country of every place. golf, rory mcilroy has taken the first round lead at the wgc champions event in shanghai. the former world number one needs a good result in china to reach the science of ending raise to dubai after a relatively poor season for him. he's made a pretty good start, shooting a 7 under par 65. to finish 2 shots clear of the

field. >> yeah, it was good. you know, i played very well, controlled my ball real will for the first 12 or 13 holes. had a couple of shots coming in that i got away with, but it was nice to birdie, you know, one of the last couple. you know, great start to the tournament. and you know, right where i want to be. cricket bangladesh have completed a one-day international series sweep against knew zealand, they have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead over the kiwis. the hosts reached 247. they just then dismissed the black happens for 207 to win by 41. more sport on our website check out aljazerra.com/sports. that's it, more later. >> thank you. stay with us here on al jazerra, a full bulletin of news of course is state ahead at the top of the our. thank to watching al jazerra. bye for now.

this is al jazerra america, live from new york city i am tony harris with a look the today's top stories the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons says syria has destroyed key equipment used to produce chemical weapons. the move is one part of the deal approved by the u.n. security council last month. more jef refugees finding themss stranded on the syrian side of the border amnesty international says there are indication that his jordan and several other countries are closing check points without notice. jordan, lebanon, turkey, iraq and egypt are dealing with a gained total of more than 2 million syrian refugees. iraq's mime minister says terrorists got a second chance to thrive in iraq because of syria's civil war, told an audienn